My Life Was Taken by My Charm-Wielding Sister—But It Ends Here (The Mind-Reading Noble Lady’s Journey to Happiness After Escaping Her Toxic Family) - Episode 26

The two got off the carriage at the outskirts of the royal capital.

“Well then, I’m hungry. Shall we have a meal first?”

Varick said this and gave Otilie a gentle smile. Then Otilie noticed something and stopped walking.

“Lord Varick… Your eye color is different from usual today, isn’t it?”

Normally he had mysterious heterochromia with purple and green eyes, but today both eyes were green. It had been hard to tell in the dimly lit carriage, but under the sunlight it was immediately obvious.

“My eye color stands out quite a bit. While few people in the city know what I look like, the heterochromia alone could reveal my identity. So, I asked one of my aides to make them appear green. My clothes are a bit different from my usual style too, right? How do I look? Does it suit me?”

“Yes, very handsome indeed.”

The fashion was perfect for casual city strolls, more so than when he was at the palace. Though the noble aura he exuded made it impossible to mistake him for a commoner, he looked refreshing and cool. The kind of person you’d want to keep looking at forever.

(But I prefer the usual Lord Varick.)

The purple eye that matched Otilie. It felt like a bond connecting him to her. So, she felt just a little lonely though she could never voice such honest feelings.

“—Do you prefer the usual me, Otilie?”

Varick asked this close to her ear. Otilie gasped in surprise, her face turning bright red as she averted her gaze.

“Eh? That’s not…”

(How did he notice?)

Even though she hadn’t transferred any abilities to Varick at the moment. Watching the half-panicked Otilie, Varick chuckled softly.

“Sorry… That was just my wishful thinking. I was hoping that was the case.”

“Eh?”

“You see, I really like having purple eyes that match yours, Otilie.”

His expression was bewitching. Otilie’s heart gave a little leap.

“Come,” he said, taking her hand, and Otilie placed her own hand on Varick’s arm. Then the two began walking slowly toward the city.

“Speaking of which, I have one request for you today, Otilie.”

“What is it, Lord Varick? Please tell me anything you wish.”

What could she possibly do? The thought that there might be something she could be relied on for made Otilie feel slightly uplifted.

“Today, could you call me ‘Rick’? You see, Varick is quite a rare name.”

“Eh! But that’s a bit too.”

Calling the crown prince by a nickname was far too disrespectful. If Airny found out, she’d likely be furious with cold anger.

“Today, I’d prefer to avoid saying your name as much as possible.”

“But you said ‘anything,’ didn’t you?”

Oh no. He’d already caught her word. Refusing now would be difficult.

“…Please keep it a secret from Miss Airny.”

“Of course. It’ll be our little secret.”

Varick said this with a cheerful laugh.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were shown to a private room overlooking a beautiful garden. A hidden gem in the city, it was said to be a long-established shop with over a hundred years of history.

(Here, security can be properly managed, and Lord Varick won’t attract attention.)

Glancing at the knights protecting them from a distance, Otilie breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is a restaurant patronized by the royal family. When I was little, I came here to eat with my father and mother.”

“Is that so?”

A shop with family memories. Otilie had no such thing, but from Varick’s expression and words, she could tell this place was very important to him.

Just then, the appetizers arrived. As Varick happily said, “Let’s eat,” Otilie stopped him.

“Ah, um… First, I need to check for poison.”

She had heard that everything the royal family consumed within the castle was tested for poison. Though she’d never heard of any poison tasters falling ill, there was always the possibility of a worst-case scenario.

“It’s fine. There’s a proper way to check.”

Saying this, Varick slowly removed the brooch pinned to his chest.

“Do you know what this is, Otilie?”

“Eh? Um…”

Embedded in the brooch was a pale blue, translucent stone. It closely resembled aquamarine, but its color and luster were subtly different.

“Could it be a crystal?”

“Correct. But it’s not just any crystal. This crystal contains Airny’s ability.”

“Miss Airny’s?”

Varick took the brooch from Otilie and gently held it over the food. Then the brooch began to glow faintly.

“Airny has the ability to identify things. She can freely read various information—ingredients, place of origin, composition, quality, and so on. Of course, including whether there’s poison or not.”

“Th-that’s such an amazing ability…!”

As expected of Varick’s close aide. Otilie was impressed by her incredible talent.

“Your ability is just as wonderful as Airny’s, you know?”

“Eh? Me? Th-thank you. But my ability is still lacking, and I don’t know if there will be opportunities to make use of it in the future.”

Being praised so suddenly left Otilie slightly flustered.

Judging from her work over the past week, what was currently required of Otilie was administrative skills. Though she couldn’t quite call herself sufficient even at that, she didn’t know if her mind-reading ability would be needed going forward, and she currently had no confidence in being able to master it.

(…I want to be more useful to Lord Varick too.)

If it was work anyone could do, there would have been no need for Varick to pick her up. Changing eye color, reading information from objects. Airny and the other aides were splendidly serving Varick.

Otilie wanted something that only she could do. Otherwise, she would lose her reason for being here.

“Otilie, I’m the one who brought you here. Trust yourself, trust me. For now, it’s enough that you’re by my side. Don’t rush. Take your time to hone your abilities.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Slowly, steadily. Now was the time to build her strength. —The other aides said the same thing, and Otilie told herself that too.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. She wished one minute could become an hour, one day a week, one week a month. She desperately wanted to grow faster to catch up to Varick.